Daniel Craig Reportedly ‘Done’ as James Bond, Turned Down an Insane Amount of Money to Play 007 Again

How much would it take to get you to play James Bond? Personally, I would do it for a couple grand if they let me keep my wardrobe and the watch and the car.

But not Daniel Craig. Apparently tired of the role of 007 after four films of varying quality (two all-time greats, one so-so entry, and one borderline disaster by my count), Craig wants out of the Bond franchise. Around the time of Spectre’s release last fall, he said he’d rather “slash [his] wrists” than make another Bond picture. But in other interviews he said he was under contract for one more Bond, which he would make for the guaranteed gigantic payday.

Now it seems Craig may have changed his mind again, and even thought the payday would indeed be gigantic, he’s no longer interested. According to a report in the Daily Mail, Craig has turned down an insanely large sum to return for two more James Bond movies:

Insiders said Craig turned down a £68 million offer from MGM studio to return as Bond for two more films following last year’s hit Spectre. The sum included endorsements, profit shares, and a role for him working as a co-producer.

At the current exchange rate, £68 million translates to a little over $99 million. So if the Daily Mail’s sources are correct, Daniel Craig chose not having $100 million over making two more Bond movies. So yeah he really doesn’t want to do any more of these things. (The Mail also claims Craig still has knee problems from the Spectre shoot, another factor in his decision.)

If Spectre is the last Craig Bond it certainly ties a nice bow on his tenure as the character. He almost literally rode off into the sunset at the conclusion of the movie, with a sort of happy ending that few Bonds ever get. They could have continued that story in certain ways if Craig came back. But if he’s really done and it’s time for a new actor to fill his tuxedo, it’s a good opportunity for producers to wipe the slate clean. But who fills that tuxedo? Prepare for weeks or months of speculation about that (like on this very website, probably in a couple hours).

UPDATE: According to the BBC and its sources, Craig “hasn’t made any decision about his future as 007, and that ‘no decision is likely to be made for a while.’” Let the speculation resume!